Many different types of drawing media have been used throughout the ages. Each type of drawing media has its distinct advantages as well as disadvantages.
Water color paints allow colors to be blended during the application process and provide a certain degree of transparency when applied over pencil, charcoal and the like. However, water color paints are simply not capable of producing a picture that is radiantly translucent with vibrant coloring. Furthermore, pictures made using water color paints are highly susceptible to irreversible damage from even small amounts of liquid.
Oil and acrylic paint are capable of providing an intense coloration and a texture to the painted surface of a picture, such as that shown in the paintings by Vincent Van Gogh. However, the paints are opaque, can be very expensive, and require a lengthy time to dry.
Oil pastels can be blended, but do not saturate the substrate to create radiantly translucent vibrant images. Furthermore, they have the significant drawback of being highly susceptible to smudging.
Crayons can also be used for drawing, but have several drawbacks, including their inability to saturate a substrate with color. Invariably, the color-coverage is sketchy, with fibers of the substrate showing through. Even repeated, time-consuming strokes of the crayon leave ragged edges. Furthermore, normal crayon application simply does not permit a true color blending to be achieved. Even though different crayon colors can be overlapped and interlaced, the different crayon colors cannot and are not blended.
Prior color-applying techniques are relatively complex and involve processes that are difficult to control and frequently produce smudged and inferior drawings. The need exists for a simple apparatus and process that allows a user to intuitively create works of art, especially translucent works, using inexpensive, readily available colorants, such as crayons. The present invention enables a first-time user to easily produce works of art that are translucent and unique. Through the process described in the present invention, color is imparted in an easily controlled and instantly “dry” manner. Even long after the colors have “hardened”, the artist can return to a work, and using the apparatus of the present invention, blend in new colors, add layers, or add new drawings